I have the pump working with the water polishing micron filter to knock some of the dust out. I also got my heater installed, I picked up a new Marineland Stealth pro 250 watt. I didn't trust the Topfin heaters that the seller included. Once I get things up to temperature I might start doing some initial planting.

I picked up a few plants today, Echinodorus tenellus and Cabomba caroliniana from the LFS. So far I'm really loving the Cabomba! They were pretty much out of stock but they get in another shipment tomorrow so I might be able to get some more pants then. I also got a large piece of drift wood but I'm returning it. I was kinda silly and didn't notice that they were selling it for $7.99 a pound, and I ended up getting a 10 pound piece. Ouch!! Needless to say I was stupid for even taking it home with me, but I'll be ordering some from the web for a much better price. I also put in some Anubis species, as well as a few smaller Val's from my 10 gallon. I may also stray from a strict Amazon theme and use some Java Fern and maybe a few other plants to fill things out. Its a rough start, and I'm just beginning. I also need to source out some large rock, I'm hoping to find large pieces of shale. The micron filter insert in my Magnum didn't seem to be doing much so I swapped it out for the normal filter setup. I threw some filter media from my 10 gallon into the filter so I can hopefully seed some bacteria. My lights will arrive on Monday so I hope to make some good progress over the weekend with the planting.

I got my Lights today. They are 216 Watt 6700k. It also included moon lights which is super slick!

I have a quick question, is it OK for the lights to sit directly on top of the tank? They came with some mounts, but if I can have them sit like this I'd prefer it. There is glass under the lights so they are protected from any water splash.

I did a lot of tests with water parameters and things have been looking great so I added a few fish from my 10 Gallon. Two Platies, a cherry barb, as well as 3 cardinals, neon and a single elusive Otto. The bulk of my plants will arrive Wednesday as well as my drift wood. The Platies and the Cherry barb don't exactly go with my Amazonian theme so shoot me I should also mention that all of these photo's are taken with my Iphone. The new lights really make things look good, and the dust has all settled out.

The only other major work to do is Co2 which is also on the way. Then I will let things sit for a few month or two before adding fish.

WOW does that blue background ever make things pop!! Beautiful! The lights are so bright and beautiful too! It makes me want to put blue on my background now, instead of black like everyone suggests I don't have a background yet, but will get one on once I move and get settled. I see you painted yours, I'm not sure I am willing to do that. What kind of paint did you use? is it removable? I was considering finding some cling plastic that is coloured.. but not sure where to find it in town. I would think poster board would get water stained over time._________________Let the current take you where you may not always want to go.

I used a can of Blue spray paint from Home Depot. It's not removable, and I was pretty nervous spraying it on. it covered really well though, I used 3 coats to get decent coverage and I spent a lot of time masking off the rest of the tank to avoid overspray. I used a hallogen light behind the tank and was able to look into the front of the tank to make sure I didn't have any lighter spots. My drift wood came today, and my wife is at home boiling it. I might get it in tonight or tomorrow.

I was concerned with water staining the background, so I opted for the paint. I have used the plastic film in the past but it always ended up looking dirty over time. This way with the paint on there the water can't get in between anything.

yeah, I might look into going to Canadian Tire or something and looking for DIY window tint. It wouldnt make it BLACK or opaque.. but at least better than the wall, and my boyfriend isnt thrilled about the idea of painting it. It is a standard 55g, and if we ever wanted to use it as a room divider... paint on one side could suck._________________Let the current take you where you may not always want to go.

Eeewww icky! I'm glad I didn't just throw it in the tank. Boiled tons of hot water and this was the third soaking. Its still pretty dark! On top of that my 5 gallon bucket is too small to hold it completely!

I'm super excited. I have plants arriving tomorrow, including some big Amazon Sword, and I'm picking up a Co2 Tank from a Welding place as well. Apparently they have a 5lb tank for $65 filled, and refills are only $12. I'm going to make a DIY reactor as well so I don't need to worry about wasting any extra Co2.